


Taken

by fandomgurl77



Series: The Origin AU [2]
Category: Dumbo (2019), The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: Anger, Animal Activism, Animal Activist Sotheby, Animals can speak, But Not Much, Circus, Dumbo can speak, Freedom, Kidnapped, Multi, Name-Calling, Repentant Ringmaster, Swearing, Wild animal acts are cruel, animal cruelty, evil circus, protest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:47:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23873383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomgurl77/pseuds/fandomgurl77
Summary: After being in the wilds of the Indian Jungle for a year (approximately), Dumbo is recaptured by a group of wildlife traffickers and shipped far away to be used in the entertainment industry - again. That is, until some old friends come to the rescue...
Relationships: Dumbo & OC
Series: The Origin AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1720267
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Dumbo and the other elephants have voices in this story, but it sounds like trumpeting to humans.
> 
> Trigger Warning: This story contains graphic depictions of animal cruelty, so this warning applies to all chapters.

_1925, August 15 th, deep in the untouched jungle of the Indian Empire…_

A group of three young elephants were playing a game of tag in the shadow of a giant waterfall when one of them landed on a ledge high up on the cliff face.

‘Dumbo!!’ one of the elephants, Saskia, cried, ‘No fair; we can’t fly!’

‘There’s some rocks jutting out from the cliff that you can climb up to finish the game!’ Dumbo said.

‘Ok’, Saskia said before she and her half-brother, Ernie, climbed up and tagged Dumbo, ‘You’re “it” next time.’

‘Yes’, Dumbo said before they descended to the ground before their mothers trumpeted from the bank of the river for them to come over for dinner.

‘That’s Mum’, Saskia said to Dumbo, ‘See you tomorrow.’

‘See you’, Dumbo said as Saskia and Ernie walked away before he flew over to where Mrs. Jumbo was standing.

Early the next morning, before the adults had woken, Saskia and Ernie approached Dumbo with a question.

‘Good morning, Dumbo’, Saskia said, ‘We have an important question to ask you.’

‘Ok’, Dumbo said, ‘What is it?’

‘You said a couple of years ago that you and your mother were held captive by humans in a far-away land called America’, Ernie said, ‘What was living with them like?’

‘Well, I was born in captivity at the Medici Bros. Circus in Joplin, Missouri in February 1919’, Dumbo said, ‘There were two other elephants there as well, whose names were Goliath and Zeppelin. It wasn’t a happy life for us most of the time; we were trained to appear as if we were happy and wanting to perform tricks, such as standing on podiums, barrels or on our hind legs for the audience every day, but, in reality, we were forced to against our will.’

‘What do you mean?’ Saskia said in a shocked voice.

‘Well’, Dumbo said, ‘They don’t like it if you refuse to perform, and they carried these spiked clubs around to ensure that we would do anything that they demanded of us by threatening to use them if we did so much as make a mistake, no matter how minor, and if that didn’t work, you were either sold off or worse…as a last resort, it was the deep sleep.’

‘Goodness’, Ernie said in shock and disbelief, ‘That’s just terrible!’

‘I know’, Dumbo said, ‘But my mother had been through much worse prior to my birth, since she had spent 39 years in captivity; firstly being sold to an American circus owner and founder known as P.T Barnum in 1880, who named her Alice. She was a regular part of his circus until 1896, when his apprentice, Phillip Carlyle, decided that she was too dangerous to keep since she had snapped during a performance and fatally injured her trainer, a notoriously cruel man known only by the name “Jones”, by trampling him.’

‘I see’, Saskia said.

‘However, my mother’s life of pain and suffering didn’t stop there’, Dumbo said, ‘After being sold by Barnum’s Circus, she was sent to a facility in the state of Maryland and was rented out to fairs and carnivals across the state, just so children and adults could ride her around a marked-out dirt, and sometimes water-logged track, even if it was blazing hot; she was never provided with shelter or medical care and the only water available to her was often stagnant and in a rusty metal drum. As you may have guessed already, she snapped again ten years later, killing two young children by throwing them off her back onto the brick walkway below and causing widespread panic in the town, before being sold to another circus where she stayed until January 30th, 1919, when Max Medici purchased her.’

‘Now I get it’, Saskia said, ‘My mother said she remembers a large group of men with guns invading the jungle and coming across the herd that she and her mother were part of; a total of nine members, including a year-old female calf, were captured by the humans, and she was tragically orphaned after her mother was shot while attempting to defend her daughter; the chaos of that day split the remainder of the herd into two groups, one of which became this herd. Anyway, my mother was taken in by the matriarch, who raised her as her own along with her older daughter.’

Meanwhile, a shady-looking cargo ship had berthed at the port during the night…


	2. Chapter 2

‘Right then’, the leader of a group of 10 men said as they began planning for the next day at their campsite on the outskirts of the jungle, ‘We’re going to bag as much as we can during this trip before returning home.’

‘Yes’, Edward’, another man, Aaron, said to the leader, ‘I’ve heard that a magical flying elephant lives somewhere in this jungle.’

‘Yeah’, his twin brother, Amos, said, ‘Just imagine the money we’d make if we bought it back with us; we’d be millionaires and living up large!’

‘Look’, Edward said, ‘I already told you; that “flying elephant” story is a myth, an urban legend thought up by the owner/founder of the Medici Bros. Circus in 1919 and publicised by the papers and the late V.A Vandevere.’

‘But…what about the photo in the paper?’ Aaron asked.

‘That could have been anything’, Edward replied, ‘For all we know, it could have been a bear cub wearing a fake trunk and ears while hanging from the ceiling on wires.’

‘I suppose you’re right’, Aaron said disappointedly, ‘I mean, it does sound a bit far-fetched; a flying elephant cannot possibly exist.’

‘Anyway’, Edward said, ‘Let’s gather our supplies and start on out trek.’

‘Yes’, Aaron, Amos and the other seven members of the group said as they put their backpacks on and took their guns into the jungle.

Meanwhile, Dumbo was doing an aerial survey of the area around the waterfall when he saw something out of the ordinary not far from where the herd was.

 _‘Wait a minute’_ , he thought, _‘What was that?’_

Suddenly, he heard the very faint sound of gunfire before seeing a flock of birds fly out from amongst the trees.

 _‘Humans…’_ he thought before he flew back, _‘They’re back!’_

On the ground where the gunfire had originated, Amos had just tied ropes around a tiger cub’s legs and jaw before roughly stuffing it in a big black bag.

‘That’ll shut you up, little shit!’ he said as he pulled the drawstrings of the bag closed and carried on hiking with the rest of the group through the dense jungle, moving ever closer to the waterfall.

Suddenly, Aaron saw a glimpse of an elephant-shaped grey figure flying overhead.

 _‘There you are’,_ he thought before notifying Edward, _‘I_ knew _you must have been real!’_

‘Edward!’ he said as he ran up to him, ‘I looked up and saw it!’

‘Saw what?’ Edward asked.

‘The flying elephant’, Aaron replied, ‘It’s real!’

‘I think the heat must have got to your head’, Edward said when he gave him his canteen of water, ‘Here, have some water.’

‘But…’ Aaron said, ‘It was there.’

‘Sure, it was’, Edward said, ‘Just as there are pixies in my garden.’

**Back at the waterfall…**

‘We’re in danger’, Dumbo said, ‘There’s a group of humans coming this way…with guns!’

‘We better start to make a plan of escape then’, Saskia and Ernie’s mother, Wendy, said in a panic, ‘Humans will do anything to get what they want, even if they have to kill.’

‘Yes’, Mrs. Jumbo said, ‘Not to mention that they don’t come far into a place like this for nothing; they’re obviously searching for something rare and unique, like you, son.’

‘What?’ Dumbo asked.

‘Yes’, Mrs. Jumbo said, ‘They want you since you have an ability that none of us have; the ability to fly.’

While the rest of the herd were sleeping that night, Dumbo spotted a single, tasty-looking peanut on the ground in front of the tree line.

 _‘What’s this?’_ he thought before picking it up with his trunk and eating it, _‘Mmm…tasty!’_

Meanwhile, a few metres away, Aaron was watching though a pair of binoculars that had a low-power in-built light on the front.

 _‘That’s it’,_ he thought as he walked back alongside the trail of peanuts further into the jungle until he was back at the temporary camp, _‘Follow the trail for a big surprise.’_

Indeed, Dumbo continued following the trail into the jungle, picking up and eating the peanuts as he went, until the trail stopped at a small clearing far away from the waterfall.

 _‘Huh?’_ he thought, _‘Where am I?’_

Suddenly. a net fell from up above onto him before three men ran out of their makeshift shelter to secure it.

 _‘What’s going on!?’_ Dumbo thought in a panic as he tried to trumpet loudly in alarm, only to have the end of his trunk quickly blocked and his eyes covered.

‘You’re coming with us!’ Aaron said.

‘Don’t worry, this won’t hurt a bit’, Amos said.

‘Ain’t it a sight to behold, Edward?’ Aaron said, ‘The flying elephant that you said was not real.’

‘I…I honestly can’t believe it’, Edward said, ‘You were right all along!’

‘We’re going to be rich, baby’, Amos said, ‘Luckily, there’s a transport road leading from this clearing for the truck to come down to take us all back to the ship.’

‘Speaking of that’, Edward said, ‘We need to make a break for it as soon as the truck comes and leave the country before the authorities find out.’

As if on cue, a large truck with a huge container on the back pulled up outside the campsite before the driver opened the metal door at the back.

‘Ok’, the driver said, ‘So, you have two tiger cubs and one elephant calf?’

‘Yes’, Aaron said, ‘We need help with loading them please.’

‘Ok’, the driver said, ‘The cubs can be put in the cages at the front of the container, while the calf will be chained to the floor in the middle.’

‘Thanks’, Edward said as the animals were loaded into the container before the driver and two of the men got into the cab at the front and the other eight sat in the container as the truck drove away.

The next morning, Mrs. Jumbo was in a panic.

‘Wendy?’ she said, ‘I can’t find Dumbo!’

It was then that Saskia approached them and led them along a makeshift trail.

‘I think that you should see this’, she said before they came to a clearing with a shingle road leading out of it.

‘Oh my’, Mrs. Jumbo said, ‘The humans must have been here last night!’

‘Correct’, Saskia said.

However, Mrs. Jumbo was horrified to discover Dumbo’s unique ear prints in the dust.

‘DUMBO!!!’ she trumpeted before bursting into tears, ‘NOOO!!!’


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains some mild name-calling.
> 
> I have nothing against vegans of animal activists; they're well-meaning people following a good cause. I'm all for animal welfare and banning the use of wild, non-domestic animals in the entertainment industry, or any human industry.

Over the next two weeks, Dumbo was confined to a pen amongst hundreds of cages containing all sorts of rare animals, from snakes to monkeys, big cats to bear cubs, but not another elephant in sight.

** It was then that he noticed that his ears had been tied up above his head so he couldn’t fly away, in addition to having one of his back legs chained to the wall.

 _‘I can’t believe it!’_ he thought, _‘I’m in captivity again!’_

Finally, the ship arrived on a windy spring day at its destination and began unloading its illicit cargo.

‘Ok, Dumbo!’ a man said as he opened the pen and unchained his leg, ‘Time to go!’

His colleague then gave him a bull-hook before herding Dumbo outside and down the ramp onto the dock.

 _‘Where am I?’_ he thought as a man approached him and the other two men.

‘He’s splendid!’ he said, ‘I’ll take him!’

‘Nice doing business with you’, one of the men, Edward, said before being handed 20,000 pounds in a suitcase, ‘Goodbye!’

‘So’, Holt said, ‘This is New Zealand.’

‘Yes’, Collette said, ‘We’re in the city of Christchurch.’

‘Sorry to interrupt’, Milly said, ‘But aren’t we going to go to that fair on the northern outskirts of the city?’

‘Yes’, Holt said before they headed for the closest bus stop, ‘Let’s go.’

**Two hours later…**

‘Today was a nice day, Dad’, Milly and Joe said.

‘Glad you liked it, kids’, Holt said before something grabbed Joe’s attention.

‘What are all these people crowding around here to see?’ he said, referring to a crowd of people gathered around a big cage. ‘Come on, let’s find out.’

However, the four of them were horrified by what they saw within the cage.

‘Holy cheese!’ Holt said, ‘That’s Dumbo!’

‘Dumbo?’ Collette said, ‘But, he was released into the Indian jungle with his mother after Dreamland burned down.’

‘Well, he must have been recaptured then’, Holt said as Dumbo was flying around the cage while a man wielding a bull-hook stood in the corner.

‘Who would do such a thing?’ Milly asked.

‘I believe it’s the work of…wildlife poachers’, Holt said, ‘They often have large worldwide networks that ship large quantities of rare and threatened species internationally for the illegal pet trade, amongst other supposedly “legal” things, such as selling animals to zoos, circuses and wealthy individuals.’

‘That’s horrible!’ Milly said, ‘A stop must be put to this and Dumbo needs to be reunited with his mother, again.’

A few seconds later, after Dumbo had landed on his podium, Milly walked up to the cage and stood in front of the crowd.

‘Are you people blind?’ she said, ‘This is clearly wrong and cruel! No wild animal should be torn from their family, put on display and forced to perform silly tricks for our entertainment; how would **_you_** like to be ripped out of your comfort zone away from your family and friends, forced to entertain crowds, and be locked up in unsanitary and dangerous conditions against your will?

However, the response from the crowd was the complete opposite to what she expected.

‘Boo!’ a man shouted from the back, ‘Stop ruining a fun day out, stupid girl!’

‘YEAH!’ the crowd shouted before the man who had been holding the bull-hook seconds before approached Milly.

‘Mam’, he said, ‘I’m afraid I have to ask you to leave.’

‘Not until you release Dumbo!’ Milly said.

‘SECURITY!!’ he shouted though a megaphone tied to a post before saying, ‘Right then, Missus. I’ve called a security guard to forcibly remove you from the premises for failing to comply with orders.’

‘Let them take me’, Milly said, ‘This ain’t over yet; people **_will_** start to see the truth, trust me!’

It was then a tall, muscular brute of a man grabbed Milly by the arm and started dragging her away.

‘You **_will_** be put out of business for this outrageous cruelty!’ Milly shouted just and Holt and Collette approached the guard.

‘ _What_ do you think you’re doing to my daughter?’ Holt said, ‘Get your dirty hands off her!’

‘Excuse me?’ the guard said in shock when he let go of Milly, ‘What’s it to you, one-armed freak?’

‘Listen here, mate!’ Holt shouted, ‘I lost my arm during the war while fighting in France due to infection through a bayonet wound; I bet **_you_** didn’t do _anything_ for your country!’

‘Well’, the guard said, ‘At least I was generous enough to grow vegetables on my farm just north of here across the river **_and_** send at least half overseas!’

‘And _who_ are _you_ looking at, Missy?’ the guard said to Collette.

‘I’m _Mrs._ Collette Marchant, a.k.a the “Queen of the Heavens” at the Medici Family Circus in America.’

‘Funny’, the guard said, ‘I thought that you performed at Dreamland.’

‘I did, until it burned down six years ago’, Collette said just as another grey-haired man approached the group.

‘What the…’ Collette said as soon as she realised who this person was, ‘Sotheby? What are you doing here?’

‘Salutations to you all’, Sotheby said, ‘I decided to come here today to see what it was all about.’

‘How’s life going for you now?’ Collette asked.

‘Very well, thank you’, Sotheby replied, ‘Ever since the Dreamland fire, I’ve become 100% vegan and an animal activist.’

‘Good on you’, Holt said, ‘I’ve been thinking of doing the same as much as possible due to how the animals at Dreamland were treated.’

It was then that the guard interrupted the conversation.

‘Pardon me, sir’, he said, ‘But _your_ kind isn’t welcome here.’

Just as Sotheby was about to respond, he noticed a sad and lonely-looking Dumbo in the cage behind the guard.

‘How _dare_ you have Dumbo locked up in a cage like that?’ he said angrily, ‘Especially when there are plenty of other humane forms of entertainment available, such as the sideshow games.’

‘Who are _you_ to tell normal folks like us what to do and how to live?’ the guard asked, ‘Sorry, sir, but I’m **not** going to be harassed by you wackos!’

‘Sotheby’s right’, Milly said, ‘There _are_ other animal-friendly options available that will still give people of all ages a thrill.’

‘Shut up, bitch!’ the guard shouted at Milly before Holt slapped him across the face.

‘Don’t you **dare** speak to my daughter like that!’ he shouted.

 ** _‘_** That’s it!’ the guard said, ‘I’m out of here!’

However, he was blocked off by Sotheby.

‘I think you should apologise’, he said.

‘Out of my way, ponce!’ the guard shouted, ‘Same for all of you wankers!’

‘I’d watch your mouth, if I were you’, Sotheby said.

‘Or what?’ the guard asked.

‘Well then, I’m afraid I’ll have to report your conduct to your boss’, Sotheby replied.

‘Oh, yeah?’ the guard asked, ‘And how are you going to do that, lowly old servant?’

‘Actually, I’m the long-lost member of the _aristocratic_ Crawley family’, Sotheby said, ‘Although I did work for V.A Vandevere from just before Dreamland opened until the night it burned down. Not to mention that your boss is right over near the shooting gallery.’

‘Ok, ok’, the guard said, ‘I apologise for all the trouble I’ve caused.’

‘Apology accepted’, Sotheby said.

‘Thanks’, the guard said before walking away, ‘Goodbye.’

**Five minutes later…**

‘Dumbo’, Sotheby said while standing on the outside of the cage, ‘It’s me, Sotheby, and Collette, Holt, Milly and Joe. We’re going to get you out of here somehow and back to where you belong.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ** The part about Dumbo's ears being tied above his head is a reference to a scene in the original 1941 movie.
> 
> 'Holy cheese' is a saying used in a cartoon called Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warnings: Dumbo is chained to a wall and prodded with a bull-hook, another elephant shows physical signs of abuse and neglect. (I know this warning was covered at the beginning of the story but I thought I would say it again in more detail.)

That night, however, all the stands and games in the fairgrounds were packed into a total of five individual trucks, including Dumbo, who was taken by the man who had purchased him early the previous morning to be sold yet again to another middle-aged man.

‘Thanks for taking this stupid animal off me’, Dumbo’s current owner said to the other man, Toby Peterson, ‘He’s been nothing but a burden after I showcased him as a miraculous freak of nature at the local fair today.’

‘Excellent’, Toby said, ‘This elephant will make an excellent addition to my circus.’

‘Yes’, the other man said, ‘He’s sure to draw in crowds like a banana attracts fruit flies.’

‘Thanks once again’, Toby said, ‘Goodnight.’

**A week later…**

_‘Saskia?’_ Dumbo thought as he watched a young elephant performing in the ring 40 minutes into a show at Peterson Circus, _‘Oh, my goodness, it_ is _you!’_

A few seconds later, the audience erupted in applause.

‘Let’s hear it for Saskia!!’ the ringmaster said as Saskia and her trainer disappeared through the flap behind the ring to the backstage area.

‘Dumbo!’ she said after her trainer had disappeared just as a man and a duo of tigers walked through the flap, ‘I didn’t think I’d see you again.’

‘How long have you been here?’ Dumbo asked.

‘Two weeks’, Saskia replied, ‘And I have the scars to prove how badly I’ve been treated during that time.’

On closer inspection of her skin, Dumbo was horrified to see a mixture of fresh and old, scarred-over wounds that her trainer had attempted to hide by covering them with a grey powder.

‘I see’, he said in a shocked voice.

‘All of them were caused by being whacked and prodded with the bull-hook during training and before performances’, Saskia said.

It was then that a middle-aged woman walked up to and un-chained Dumbo’s back leg from the wall.

‘Come on, Dumbo’, she said when she picked a bull-hook up off the table beside him, ‘It’s time to go out.’

‘See you later’, Dumbo whispered to Saskia as they walked towards the flap.

However, all the woman could hear was the sound of soft trumpeting, which she didn’t appreciate.

‘Just shut up, will you?’ she said as she prodded Dumbo in the side with the sharp end of the bull-hook, causing him great pain while leaving a small and bloody wound.

‘Better cover that up’, the woman said as she poured some grey powder from a bottle onto her hand and covered the wound with it before they disappeared through the flap.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Animal rights activists protest at one of the circus shows; Dumbo snaps due to stress during a performance; Peterson Circus closes down after the ringmaster admits mistreating the animals; Sotheby is nearly killed.

‘And now…the moment you’ve been waiting for…’ the ringmaster said while the audience sat in silence and awe and the tigers sat on their podiums at either side of the ring, ‘The one…the only…incredible flying elephant, Dumbo!!’

Suddenly Dumbo spread his ears and took off, flying between the two tigers and around the tent as the audience clapped and cheered.

However, not everyone in the audience was happy about this.

‘I think it’s time’, Sotheby said to Collette, Milly and Joe before a small group of people surrounding them held signs up above their heads, ‘Just pick up the signs beside you and hold them up.’

‘Ok’, they said.

Indeed, a few seconds later, just after Dumbo had landed, the other members of the group began booing the show, drawing the attention of the rest of the audience, trainers and ringmaster.

‘Shame on you all!’ a woman shouted, ‘This is totally inhumane and sick!’

‘How can you call this “entertainment”!?’ a man in the back row shouted, ‘It’s cold-blooded torture in disguise!’

Just then, a group of security personnel walked over and herded the group out the entrance while the audience cheered.

‘Right’, the ringmaster said, ‘Now that those troublemakers have been removed and trespassed, let’s resume the show!!’

‘I _can’t_ believe we were kicked out for speaking the truth!’ Milly said, ‘Society must be _stupid_ if it thinks that animal abuse is “entertaining”!”

‘Yes’, Sotheby said, ‘Our views are currently not popular with the general public, who often turn a blind eye to what is really going on and abuse us for protesting, but we must not give up; it’s the way of the future.’

‘By the way’, Holt said, ‘I think that they’ve trespassed us so we can’t protest around here anymore, not to mention they resumed the show after we were removed.’

‘Typical’, Sotheby said, ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if this place becomes even more popular with the ignorant public due to that.’

Ten weeks later, Dumbo had finally had enough of performing while he was in the ring standing on a giant ball.

‘AAAHHH!’ the audience screamed in terror as they started to flee through the entrance as Dumbo charged towards the stands and started to tear them apart, during which the two tigers and Saskia broke free backstage.

‘What the heck is going on!?’ the ringmaster shouted while watching the chaos unfold, ‘Someone **_please_** phone Animal Control!!’

‘Right onto it, boss’, one of the trapeze artists, Cindy, said before heading to the phone.

Meanwhile, Sotheby, Collette, Holt and Milly were a few metres from the tent when Dumbo flew up to them and picked Sotheby up with his trunk in preparation to fly up high and drop him.

‘Dumbo!’ Sotheby shouted, ‘Let me go!’

However, Dumbo wasn’t listening and began carrying him up into the air.

‘I know what to do’, Milly said before she whistled and lowered her outstretched arm, causing Dumbo to descend and land on the ground.

‘Thank you, Milly’, Sotheby said when he was let go.

‘No problem, Sotheby’, Milly said.

It was then that they heard applause coming from the ringmaster, Toby Peterson.

‘Whoa!’ he said in awe, ‘I never thought you could control Dumbo like that, mam.’

‘Well’, Milly said, ‘I and my younger brother, who is back home in America, were his first trainers since his birth at the Medici Bros. Circus in February 1919.’

‘I see’, Toby said, ‘Well then, maybe he’s better off with you guys then, since my circus is officially and permanently closed from now. I and my sister, Samantha Ethel, or S.E Peterson, have been trying to get into the movie industry anyway; she’s a very wealthy and famous entertainment tycoon here in New Zealand, you know, not to mention that she also owns an amusement park up north.’

Milly couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

 _‘Oh my’_ she thought, _‘She’s just like V.A Vandevere!’_

‘Well’, she said, ‘I wish you two the best of luck with your new joint-venture. By the way, what’s going to happen to the two tigers and the other animals?’

‘Well’, Toby said, ‘I thought about your protest at the show a few weeks ago, and I have to agree that you’re right about it being cruel, so they’re all going to be shipped back to their native homes.’

‘Good’, Sotheby said, ‘I should think so too.’


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dumbo returns home with one of the other elephants.

The next day, Sotheby, Collette, Holt, and Milly were at Lyttelton port with Dumbo just as the two tigers had been taken onto the large ship beside them.

‘Goodbye, Dumbo, again’, Milly said, ‘We’re going to miss you.’

It was then that Saskia walked up to them.

‘Come on, Dumbo, she said, ‘Let’s go home.’

‘Ok’, Dumbo said as the two of them held trunks.

‘Awww…’, Holt said, ‘Looks like Dumbo has got himself a friend, or, should I say, girlfriend.’

‘Indeed’, Collette said, ‘They do make an adorable couple, like us.’

‘Yes’, Holt said, ‘Just like us.’

‘Last call for loading!’ a man shouted from the top of the ramp leading to the deck of the ship.

‘Well’, Holt said, ‘I guess this is goodbye.’

‘Goodbye!’ Dumbo and Saskia trumpeted before walking up the ramp and again when they turned around on the deck before the ship left the port and headed east out to sea.

A couple of weeks later, at the waterfall in the jungle of the Indian Empire, Wendy and Mrs. Jumbo were reunited with Saskia and Dumbo, much to their joy and relief.

‘Saskia, Dumbo!’ they trumpeted joyously, ‘You’re back!’

‘Yes, mum’, Saskia said to Wendy, as did Dumbo to Mrs. Jumbo.

‘We were freed after being used as circus props’, Dumbo said.

‘I’m just glad you’re safe’, Mrs. Jumbo said, ‘You can tell me all about your adventure after dinner.’


	7. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adult Milly and Joe visit Dumbo and his new family.

_May 14 th, 1956_

‘Dad and Collette would have loved this’, 49-year old Milly said to her 44-year old brother, Joe, as they looked out over a huge waterfall in the Indian jungle.

‘I’m so glad that we had enough money to stay at the hotel just outside this wildlife reserve’, Joe said, ‘It’s been amazing!’

Suddenly, a five-year old boy and his two older sisters nearly ran over the edge of the cliff while playing tag.

‘Chloe, Kathy, Owen!’ Milly warned, ‘You know not to run around near the cliffs like that; you could fall off.’

‘Sorry, mum’, the three kids said just as three elephant calves flew up from the riverbank below and landed on the top of the cliff while their mother walked out from the trees and trumpeted before their father descended from the sky and landed beside her.

‘Dumbo! Saskia!’ Milly and Joe said, ‘So glad to see you again!’

‘Not to mention your three children’, Joe said as the three calves ran up to greet them.

It was then another, much younger calf joined them, although this one had normal-sized ears, while Dumbo trumpeted.

‘Joe’, Milly said, ‘I think Dumbo is trying to tell us that this one is a brand-new addition to their family.’

‘Oh’, Joe said as the calf walked over to Saskia and began nursing, ‘I suppose it is smaller than the other three.’

‘Anyway, Dumbo’, Joe said, ‘Where’s Mrs. Jumbo? I haven’t seen her around.’

‘Joe…’ Milly said.

‘What?’ Joe said, ‘It’s a legitimate question.’

Upon hearing this, Dumbo’s face sank.

‘Now look what you’ve done!’ Milly said while pointing at him.

‘Oh’, Joe said when he realised what this meant, ‘Sorry, Dumbo, I didn’t realise she had…you know.’

‘It’s ok’, Milly said, ‘I’m sure that Dumbo forgives you.’


End file.
